Every family's old photo album tells a story, but Duane Cramer lets his tell African American history

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, February 19, 2005

#8
Beedie Laverne Brazos
Houston, Texas
Circa 1955 Photo Description: Young woman smiling with hands on her hips standing in front of an old car with one foot on the curb of the road. Notes: Beedie is between 15 and 17 years of age (information from Beedie Laverne). Her fist marriage was to Joe J. Cramer, Jr. in 1961. Beedie and Joe Cramer had 3 children Duane Joseph Cramer b. Oct 21, 1962 Bloomington, IN, Imelda Adelle Cramer b. Nov. 9, 1963 Bellefonte, PA and Cynthia Laverne Cramer b. Nov 19, 1964 Bellefonte, PA. Birth date and Place: August 9, 1938 - Houston, TX Death: LIVING in Chicago, Illinois Relation to Duane Joseph Cramer: Beedie Laverne Fears Brazos is Duane�s mother. She is daughter of Beedie Fears Brazos and Freddie Brazos.
Photo from Duane Cramer less

#8
Beedie Laverne Brazos
Houston, Texas
Circa 1955 Photo Description: Young woman smiling with hands on her hips standing in front of an old car with one foot on the curb of the road. Notes: Beedie is ... more

Image 2 of 4

#9
Charles Ervin Phillips III and Drake Joseph Cramer-Brown
Atlanta, Georgia
August 20, 2000
Photo by Duane Cramer Photo Description: Two young boys in formal dress (coat and tie) sitting on cement steps with thumbs up. Notes: Photograph taken on the steps of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception @ 48 Martin Luther King Drive, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30303. This was the day of Drew Cramer-Brown�s Baptism (Catholic). Chas is 5 years old and Drake Joseph is 4 years old in the photo. Birth date and Place: Charles Ervin Phillips III - August 19, 1995 � Atlanta, Georgia
Birth date and Place: October 4, 1996 � Coral Springs, Florida Relation to Duane Joseph Cramer: Drake Joseph is Duane�s first born nephew by sister Imelda Cramer-Brown.
Photo from Duane Cramer less

Every family's old photo album tells a story, but Duane Cramer lets his tell African American history

1 / 4

Back to Gallery

It's not hard to figure out where Duane Cramer got his talent for photography. Cramer has lovingly restored and collected photographs of five generations of his family that are now on exhibit at one of the San Francisco Airport museums.

"Preserving and presenting history runs in my family's blood," Cramer writes in his artist statement. "A cousin, Mary L. Jackson-Fears, has done extensive genealogy research on a part of the family tree. ... She, like myself, understands that we write and photograph not only for our children and future generations, but also for a more noble purpose. Much of African American history has been omitted from history books. With every published family history, the thin shelf of African American history is lengthened and broadened. ... Their names, their memories and their lives, once hidden from the pages of history, are now recorded for perpetuity as a part of a living American history."

Most of the photographs for the exhibition were shot in Houston, Nacogdoches or Bellville, Texas. The young woman standing in front of a car is Beedie Laverne Brazos. She says the photo was taken in Houston around 1955, when she was about 16 years old. Beedie would marry and have three children. Her first-born was Duane Cramer, in 1962. "The subjects in these photographs insisted that their whole stories be told," Cramer writes, "and so I insist on exhibiting a whole picture of black history that is unapologetic, beautiful, provocative, empowering and telling."

Cramer, a graduate of the University of Southern California, is based in San Francisco. His work has been published in Harper's Bazaar, as well as international publications. Cramer's photographic portraits, including those of former Mayor Willie Brown, reach the soul.

"Family Focus: A Look at Fashion Through Historic Family Photographs" runs through April in the airport's central south connector between Terminals 1 and 2, near Gate D5. For more information on Cramer and his work, check out www.duanecramer.com.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.